Amusement device.



PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

c. 0. KEEN. AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPLICATION IILED AUG. 9, 1907.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR.-

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No. 872,627. 'PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907. 0. 0. KEEN.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE. APPLIOAIION FILED AUG. 9. 1907.

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' tion is given to the platform there will be the- CHARLES C. KEEN,OF'SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 13cc. 3, 1907.

Application filed August 9. 1907. Serial No, 387.328.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. KEEN,-a citizen of theUnited States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Amusement Device, of whichthe following is a s ecification in such full and clear terms as Wlllenable those skilled in the art to construct anduse the same.

This invention relates to devices used for the urpose of amusing largenumbers of peo ple y means of a device which will give them thesensation of traveling and at the same time providing movable scenerywhich will make the sensation of traveling more vivid by reason of thefact that the moving scenery gives the effect of motion forward. It iscommon with such machines to move the platform on which the personsareseated up and down and sidewise, but if too much modifliculty thatsome persons do not like the device and a moderate motion is thereforethe best, where it is intended to have scenery in addition to that fixedto the walls of the structure in which the platform is placed.

In the drawings, in which the same numerals are applied to the sameparts throughout, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view ofthe device, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, Fig. 3 is a verticalcross sectional view of the device on the dotted line X, Fig. 1, andFig. 4 is a detail showing the means used to give the vertical motionand vibration to the platfrom.

The invention is intended to be placed in a tank 1, or it may be placedin an ordinary store room, the sea being imitated by the canvas 2 whichis painted a sea green and secured to the walls of the tank or room, andto the sides of the platform or boat 3. The tank is in reality simply aroom in which the device is placed, said room being near enough airtight below the canvas to cause the canvas to move up and down inimitation of Waves'as the boat moves up and down, and in order toincrease the illusion of motion the platform is provided withantifriction rolls 15 which give it a vibration to increase the illusionof motion.

The boat or platform is provided with a series of seats 4, of which onlytwo are shown in Fig. 3, and it is supported by means of the A frame 5at the rear, the shaft 6 permitting the boat to be moved in the verticalplane.

At the front the boat is supported by means of the two-cams 13 which arein turn carried by the two A frames 7 in which the shaft 9 is journaled,said shaft carrying the cams 13, a gear wheel 12, and a small pulley 16.The two frames 77 also carry a shaft 8 beloW the shaft 9 on which is asmall pinion 11 and the large pulley 10, which latter is driven from themotor M by means of the belt B.

The cams 13 operate in a channel iron 14 in which there is a series ofsmall antifriction rolls 15, said rolls performing two functions, viz;to reduce the friction of the cams against the channel iron and also togive the boat a certain amount of vibration, due to the movement fromone roll to another which increases the illusion of motion.

It will be understood that the boat and tank is placed in an inclosedroom on the walls of which are various painted scenes, but it isnecessary to increase this effect by means of moving scenery. This isdone by having an endless curtain, shown in dotted lines at 24,supported by means of two vertically journaled rollers 22 and 23, saidrollers being so placed as to support the curtain at an acute angle tothe length of the boat. The roller 22 is supported by means of the shaft19 carried by the step bearing 20 and the side bearing 21, said shaftalso having the pulley 18. The shaft 9 has a pulley 16 on one end andaround which the rope 17 is passed, said rope driving the roller 22through its pulley 18. The roller 23 is supported by means of thevertical shaft 25 which is in its turn carried by the step hearing 27,and the side bearing 26.

The operation of the device is as follows: The persons are allowed to goon the boat by means of any suitable bridge which will prevent them fromstepping on the canvas 2, and when they are seated the motor is startedand the boat begins to pitch up and down at the front end, the air inthe tank causing the canvas to rise and fall like the waves at sea, andthe curtain begins to move around the rolls 22, 23. The illumination ofthe apparatus is arranged so that the movement of the curtain is aboutall that is clearly seen and it gives the effect of movement in alongitudinal direction as well as the actual movement in the verticalplane, the illusion of movement being also heightened by means Havingthus described my invention what I claim is as follows, modificationswithin the scope of the claims being expressly reserved.

1. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover attached tothe sides of the compartment, a movable platform to which the cover isattached, and a movable endless curtain placed in front of and at anacute angle with the longitude of the platform.

2. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover secured tothe sides of the same, a platform adapted to be moved in a verticalplane and to which the cover is also secured, a movable endless curtainplaced in front of the platform and at an acute angle with the longitudeof the same, and means to move the platform and curtain.

3. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover securedthereto, a vertically movable platform to which the cover is alsosecured, two vertically journaled curtain rollers one placed in thefront of and the other at the side of-the platform, a curtain carriedthereby, and means to move the platform and curtain.

4. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover for the sameand attached to the sides thereof, a platform placed near the center ofthe compartment and to which the cover is secured, a shaft below andnear the rear of the platform and on which it is journaled, a shafthaving cams which support the platform at its front end, a movablecurtain placed at an acute angle with the longitude of the platform, andmeans to drive the curtain and platform.

5. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover therefor andattached to the sides thereof, a platform placed near the center of thecompartment, a shaft adapted to oscillate supporting the platform nearthe rear thereof, a shaft having two cams which support the platformnear the front thereof, a series of antifriction rolls with which saidcams come into direct contact whereby the friction of the cams in movingthe platform is decreased and a slight vibration imparted to theplatform, a vertically placed endless curtain in front of the platform,and means to move the platform and curtain.

6. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover therefor andattached to the sides of the compartment, a platform placed near thecenter of the compartment, a frame supporting a horizontal shaft towhich said platform is secured near the rear thereof, a pair of framessupporting a second horizontal shaft near the front end of the platform,a pair of cams carried thereby and supporting the platform, a verticallyplaced curtain in front of and at the side of the platform, and means tomove the platform and curtain.

7. The combination of a tight compartment, a flexible cover therefor andsecured to the sides thereof, a platform carrying a series of seatsplaced near the center of the compartment, a frame having a horizontalshaft placed near the rear of the platform and below the same, a pair offrames having a horizontal shaft which carries a pair of cams supportingthe front end of the platform, a vertical roller placed in front of theplatform, a second vertical roller placed at the side of the platform, acurtain carried by said rollers, and means to drive the rollers andplatform.

In testimony whereof I have set my hand this 3d day of August A. D.1907, in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

CHARLES C. KEEN.

.Vitnesses FRANK P. MEDINA, JAMES A. WEBSTER.

